Intensive training course on the Multilateral trading system and the accession to the WTO for Iraqi trade officials

25 February - 01 March 2013Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Ankara, TurkeyAnkara, Turkey

Key Issues

In collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)- Cooperation and Integration Department - and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), UNCTAD will co-organise an intensive training course on the Multilateral trading system and accession to the WTO for officials from the Republic of Iraq.

15 participants representing the Office of the Prime Minister and the following Iraqi line ministries, relevant government institutions, are expected to attend this training course: Trade, Finance, Environment, Labour and Social Affairs, Health, Industry, High Education and Scientific Research, Justice, Transport, and Culture (National Centre on the Protection of Copyrights).

The private sector will be represented by the Iraqi Union of Chambers of Industry.

IDB has provided the funding to bear the cost of the participation of the 15 officials, the SESRIC has offered the conference facilities and UNCTAD will prepare and deliver the substantive part of the training courses through the involvement of two (02) TNCDB resource persons.

The work programme of the course will cover presentations on selected WTO/GATT main agreements as well as other important accession related-topics which have direct relevance to the Iraqi accession process, taking into account national development objectives and priorities as well as Iraq special circumstance. A particular emphasis will be put on organisation and substantive preparation at home in the area of legislative and regulatory reforms to ensure the compliance of Iraq’s foreign trade regime with WTO disciplines.

In addition issues that have a crucial bearing on the economic and social development of Iraq including potential side effects of the accession negotiations on key sectors such as Agriculture, Industry and services will be discussed.

The participants will learn through practical training the techniques on the preparation of market access initial offers in goods and services.

Moreover, research on recent WTO accession cases particularly from the Arab region will be made available to the participants and be debated as part of experience sharing and lessons to be learnt which would help Iraq to better prepare for the next phases of its accession process.